A/HRC/25/50/Add.1 investment spending. The Government has committed to further spending cuts over the fiscal period 2013/14.28 D. Privatization 30. A key component of the adjustment programme is the sale of State-owned enterprises and assets in order to contribute to the reduction of the public debt.29 It was initially assumed that €50 billion would be generated through the privatization process by the end of 2015. The privatization programme has not, however, been as successful as anticipated; for example, revenues generated by the end of 2012 amounted to only €1.6 billion, and proceeds in 2013 were “below expectations”. The target has therefore been reduced to €24.2 billion by 2020. 31. The Independent Expert is concerned that several of the enterprises targeted for privatization provide essential public services, such as water and sanitation, transportation and energy, and that there is a likelihood of a significant increase in user fees for the services offered by these entities after privatization, with a potential negative impact on the enjoyment of basic rights. Consequently, he considers that privatization should be undertaken cautiously and with sensitivity to the rights of the population. 32. Furthermore, if the intention is to raise funds to pay down the debt, the decision to privatize the Greek national lottery, one of the most profitable in the world, may be called into question. E. Structural reforms 33. The adjustment programme includes several “structural reforms” aimed at boosting competitiveness and enabling Greece to emerge from the crisis quickly. These include modernizing public administration by reorganizing recruitment procedures; liberalizing trade; opening up regulated professions; ensuring greater labour market “flexibility” to reduce labour entry and exit costs; strengthening the anti-corruption framework; and improving the business environment through by addressing inefficiencies in the judicial system. 34. Since 2010, a series of labour market reforms (laws 4019/2011, 3996/2011, 3986/2011, 4024/2011 and 4052/2012) have been implemented with the professed aim of increasing the competitiveness of the economy and boosting growth prospects. Specific measures include labour cost reduction and encouraging employment through the repeal of allowances and benefits; reduction of the time of notification of dismissals (Law 3863/2010); making collective bargaining “more flexible”, including by waiving the socalled “principle of favourability” in collective bargaining, and firm-level agreements taking precedence over any other favourable collective (sectoral or professional) agreement (Law 3899/2010); introducing flexible forms of employment by extending the maximum duration of successive fixed-term contracts from two to three years (Law 3986/2011); and reduction of the monthly minimum wage in the private sector by 22 per cent for workers over 25 years and by 32 per cent for those under 25 (Law 4046/2012). 28 29 10 Memorandum of understanding, 21 December 2012 (www.imf.org/external/np/loi/2012/grc/122112.pdf), pp. 17-19. The programme is overseen by the Hellenic Asset Development Fund, which includes representatives of the European Union and IMF.